Jair Bolsonaro has been arrested after authorities determined he posed a serious risk of fleeing while under home confinement.
The ex-president was sentenced of planning a military coup in the ninth month and handed more than 27 years in prison, but he continued under house arrest pending court reviews.
Top Judicial Official Justice Moraes said the decision to arrest the 70-year-old politician was a safety action after fresh information came to light.
This encompassed seeking to disable his ankle monitor and a invitation to a demonstration that could enable a potential flight.
Judicial Records Show Flight Fears
In a filing authorising the custody, Justice Moraes said intelligence from the facility tracking Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's aim to disable the tracking monitor to guarantee victory in his escape.
This, it said, would be made easier by the chaos caused by the protest called by his offspring.
His child, Flávio Bolsonaro, who serves as a legislator, called for a assembly of his supporters near Bolsonaro's home to take place on Saturday evening.
His son wrote on social media on Friday: "Are you going to fight for your nation, or see it all from your mobile device there on your couch? I invite you to fight with us."
He said the gathering would be so followers could offer prayers for his health and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our country."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of Justice Moraes's determination was the chance of Bolsonaro's transfer to embassies near the dwelling, considering that the investigations revealed a background of organizing to seek refuge through a consular facility", a statement said.
The legal document emphasizes that the US embassy in the federal district, the capital city, is located around 8 miles from the former president's residence.
Global Responses
His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow right-wing populist US President President Trump, prompting him to implement a fifty percent tax on imports of Brazilian goods.
He is being kept in a federal law enforcement building in Brazil's capital city and will undergo a imprisonment assessment on Sunday.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on the previous day that the former president's lawyers asked the Top Court to allow him to serve his whole jail sentence under domestic detention, with digital surveillance.
They also requested that Bolsonaro be permitted to exit his dwelling for medical treatment, saying he required frequent medical attention for respiratory ailments and other health problems.
Context of Sentencing
He was convicted of leading a scheme aimed at retaining his authority after he failed to win the presidential race to his political opponent, President Lula.
Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a plot which included plans to assassinate Lula and his running partner, Geraldo Alckmin, and to arrest and execute Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been overseeing his judicial proceedings.
The scheme was thwarted because it couldn't obtain the backing of the army and air force commanders. The current president was sworn in without incident on the first day of 2023.
But a following week, on January 8th, many Bolsonaro supporters attacked and damaged public facilities in the national capital, Brazil's capital.
The law enforcement took action and around 1,500 people were detained.
The judges found that the rioters had been provoked by the former president whose plan, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, bring back stability and reinstate his authority.
At the time, the legal team called the decades-long sentence unreasonably severe".
He was also barred from campaigning for office until the year 2060 - a decade minus two years after the end of his sentence.
The one-time head of state called the legal proceedings a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him running in the 2026 national vote.
